Love and War
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Todd never came back after escaping from the police when he was convicted of killing Margaret. Now five years later he has returned with an unfamiliar son and more secrets than anyone could imagine.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Life to Live or any of its characters.**

**Love and War**

**A/N: In this story, the whole two Todds thing didn't happen. Also, in this story, Cole is much younger than he was on the show, which obviously means that Hope does not exist. Everything else is the same.**

Viki was on her way up to bed when she heard the doorbell. She frowned. _'Who could that be at this hour?'_ she wondered. It was late everyone she knew wouldn't come by so late.

She went to the door and opened. She gasped in shock at the sight she saw. It was her brother and he was carrying a young boy who looked to be eight or nine.

"Hey, sis," Todd said quietly.

Viki quite frankly very surprised to see Todd. It had been many years since she'd seen her brother. Not since he'd been falsely convicted of murder five years ago and sentenced to death. Just as he was about to be transported to a maximum prison, the plane went down and he managed to escape. No one had seen him since.

"Can we come in?" Todd asked after a minute of complete silence passed.

Viki blinked and immediately stepped aside. "Of course. Come in,"

"Thank you," Todd said as he stepped inside.

"Why don't you take that child upstairs and put him down in one of the empty guest rooms. I'll wait for you in the living room," Viki told him.

Todd nodded and went upstairs.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Ten minutes later, Todd walked back downstairs and into the living room. Viki immediately pulled him into a hug. "I'm so glad you're here. I've worried about you so much."

"I'm okay," Todd said. That was relatively if not completely true."

Viki let go after a minute. "Where have you been? You know, you were cleared of all charges related to Margaret years ago." Margaret Cochran had turned up alive just a few months after Todd vanished.

"Yeah, I know," Todd said. He hadn't known that at first, but he eventually got the news.

"Did you just find that out?" Viki asked.

"No, I've known for a while," Todd said before sitting down on the couch.

Viki joined him a second later. "I don't understand. Why didn't you come home sooner if you could have?"

"It's a long story. I wasn't in a position to come home then and once I was, things in my life had changed too much," Todd said.

"What do you mean? Where have you been?" Viki asked.

"Here and there," Todd said evasively.

Viki could tell that something was definitely up with her brother. He was being very quiet and secretive. What exactly had happened to him while he was away? "Todd, what is going on? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Viki, really. It was just time I came home. Like you said, it's been a long time," Todd said.

"And I am very glad you did, but why now after all these years? And who was that boy you had with you?" Viki asked.

"He's my son," Todd said. That was true as far as he was concerned. He'd been a part of that kid's life since he was very little and he was the only father he remembered having. That was his son.

"Todd, I realize that it has been a long time, but that child is at least eight," Viki said.

"He's nine actually," Todd corrected.

"Which means that he was conceived years before you left. How can he be your son?" Viki asked.

"He just is. Look, I know this is last minute, but would it be alright if we stayed her for a couple of days while I figure thing out?" Todd asked.

"Of course, but what do you mean by figure things out. You are staying for good, aren't you?" Viki asked.

"For a while anyway," Todd replied.

"I wish you would just tell me what is going on. And don't say nothing because I know there is something," Viki said. She knew something was going on. Todd's whole demeanor screamed it. She'd never seen him this calm and collected while at the same time so on edge.

"You trust me, don't you, Viki?" Todd asked.

Viki gave him a look. "Sometimes."

Todd chuckled a little. "Well, you can trust me now. I've got everything under control. Now if you don't mind, I'm really tired. I'm gonna head to bed," he said before standing up.

"Alright, but this isn't over. I'm going to find out whatever it is your hiding," Viki warned.

Todd nodded and headed out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Todd was in his room getting ready for bed while also talking on the phone. "Yeah, we just got here. Well, she knows that something is up, but she hasn't a clue what."

Todd chuckled after listening to the person on the other end. "Honey, I think we're safe. No one in their right minds would think you'd ever even speak to me let alone... Yes, I know we still have to be careful. I am being careful, but you need to be careful to. It's you that he wants."

Todd took off his shoes as he listened to who he was talking to. "Yeah, I know he wants him too, but he has no idea he's with me. How could he? No one knows his connection to you. I told Viki he was my son, which is true in any case, but I'll make sure everyone thinks it's biological. No one... Yeah, there is Starr." Starr was the one person he'd kept contact with over the years. She knew almost everything about his new life, except for what was going on now. "But I'll make her see..."

Whoever he was talking to must have gotten upset because Todd immediately started to reassure them. "Okay, calm down. Of course I'm not going to tell her everything. I would never put her in that position. I'll just make her see that she can't tell anyone about you."

Todd listened and took off his shirt before putting on a white t-shirt to sleep in. "Yeah, he's fine. He's asleep. I'm kinda worried about tomorrow though. He's gonna wanna see you and I'm going to have to tell him that he can't. I'm not looking forward to that. Yeah, I will I promise. I love you and I'll call you as soon as I can. Stay safe. I will. Bye,"

He hung up the phone and then continued to ready for bed. He laid down and began to think about everything that had happened in the last five years, the good and the bad. Before he knew it, he started to drift off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Todd got up the next morning and immediately went to check on his son. He knew the boy would be upset if he woke up alone in an unfamiliar place.

Todd walked into the room and saw that his son was just getting up. "Hey, Pal."

"Dad? Where are we?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"We're at your Aunt Viki's. Remember how I said we were coming to see her? Well, we got here late last night while you were sleeping," Todd said as he walked further into the room.

"Is Starr here? You said we were going to see her," the boy said as he sat up.

"We're going to see her later. She's at her own house right now. Come on, let's go get something to eat and then we'll find her," Todd said.

He nodded and immediately got up to follow Todd out.

They both went down the stairs and into the kitchen, where they found Jessica there with two young children.

Jessica immediately got up to hug Todd. "Hey. Mom said you were here. How are you?"

"I'm good, you? You weren't too good the last time I saw you," Todd told his niece. The last time he saw Jessica, she was dealing with issues with DID.

Jessica grimaced. "Yeah, things were a bit complicated back then, weren't they?"

"Well, I get complicated. I'm just glad to see that you seem to be doing better," Todd said.

"I am. I have two kids now, both of whom, you've never met. This is Bree and Ryder," Jessica introduced.

Todd smiled at them. "Hi, there. I'm your Uncle Todd."

"Hi," Bree said.

"So who's this?" Jessica asked, referring to the young boy with Todd.

Todd placed his hands on the young boy's shoulder. "This is my son Cole. Cole, this is your cousin Jessica.

"Hi, Cole. It's nice to meet you," Jessica said as she held her hand out to him.

Cole took her hand. "Hi."

"You know, Lois made some blueberry pancakes. Would you like some?"

Cole nodded his head vigorously.

"Okay, come on," Jessica as she led the way behind the counter.

Todd sat down and watched his son. It was good to see the boy so happy. He knew it wouldn't last though. Soon Cole would want to see his mother or at least talk to her and he couldn't. Not now, not for a long time.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

After breakfast, Todd took Cole to the park. He wanted to keep him busy so that he could keep his mind off of Marty for as long as possible.

They went over to a park bench and Todd took out a baseball and two gloves. He handed one to Cole and put the other one on. "Alright, go long."

Cole immediately ran several feet away from his father. "When are we gonna see Starr?"

Todd threw the ball to his son and contemplated. That was a good question. He'd called his daughter several times, but she had yet to return his calls. "Um, I'm not sure. As soon as she calls back I guess."

"How long are we staying here?" Cole asked.

Todd bit his lip. He wasn't sure how to answer that question. The truth was that barring any complications, he didn't see them leaving any time soon. If he told Cole that though, he was going to want to know when Marty was coming. Todd knew that eventually he would have to tell his son something in regards to Marty not being with them, but he had no idea what he was going to say. No matter what he said, it wasn't going to be enough for Cole. He was nine-years-old and he was not going to understand why he couldn't see his mother.

Todd was saved from answering by a voice from behind. "Dad?"

Todd turned around to see his daughter with a young man he didn't recognize. He assumed it had to be her boyfriend James. Starr had told him all about him on the phone.

"Starr!" Cole exclaimed before running towards the young woman.

Starr hugged the boy tightly. "Hey, little brother. What are you guys doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were here?"

"Well, if you answered your phone once in a while," Todd said.

Starr took out her phone and saw that she had quite a few missed calls from her father. She looked back up at her father and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. So when did you guys get here?" Starr asked.

"Last night. We went straight to Viki's. You gonna introduce me to your friend?" Todd asked.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. This is James. James this is my father and my little brother Cole," Starr said.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Manning," James said.

"You as well. I hope you're treating my daughter right," Todd said. While some would say he'd mellowed out over the years, he was still very protective of his daughter, especially when it came to guys.

"Dad!" Starr whined.

Todd just smiled in response.

"So where's Mar-"

"Uh, can I talk to you alone for a minute? Cole, you wait here. Maybe James will play catch with you," Todd said. He needed to get Starr away before she mentioned Marty's name in public.

"Yeah, sure, I'd love to," James said.

Todd took Starr by the arm and brought her over to a bunch of tree.

"Dad, what going on? Is everything okay with...?"

"Don't say her name," Todd interrupted as he looked around for any sign of anyone. He knew he was probably being paranoid, but better safe than sorry.

"Why? What's going on? I haven't seen you this on edge since Margaret died," Starr said worriedly.

"I need to know if you've told anyone about Ma... about my wife," Todd said.

"I told James the basics. That you got remarried and that you were raising her son as your own," Starr said.

Todd sighed. It was more than he wished she'd divulged, but he could deal with it. "Okay, so he knows that Cole isn't my biological son. Does anyone else know that fact? Your mother? Jack?"

Starr shook her head. "Mom and barely talk at all and she's made sure Jack wants nothing to do with you."

A flash of pain came across Todd's face when he heard that, but he quickly covered it up. He would find a way to get through to Jack later. Right now he had to think about Cole and Marty. "Alright, do you think you can keep James quiet about the fact that Cole isn't really my son?"

"Why would I have to? Dad, would you tell me what's going on? You're starting to freak me out," Starr said. He really was. Something was so not right about this whole thing.

"I can't. I can't get you involved. Look, I'm taking care of things. I just need your help. I don't want anyone to know that Cole isn't my biological son and I don't want anyone to know who his mother is. It's important," Todd said.

"And you won't tell me why," Starr said.

"I can't. It's better that you don't know."

Starr sighed. She didn't like it, but she could deal with it. She trusted her father. Whatever was going on, he'd find a way to fix it like he always did. "Alright. I won't say anything and I'll make sure James doesn't either."

"Thank you. Come on, let's get back," Todd said before leading the way back towards Cole and James.

"Um, we better go. I've got class soon. We were really just taking a walk," Starr said.

"Come by Viki's later. We'll go to dinner. I'll see if I can get Jack to come too," Todd said. He wasn't going to hold his breath though. He'd tried several times over the years to get Jack to talk to him and it never worked. He couldn't even get the kid on the phone.

Starr nodded. "Don't get your hopes up, okay?"

Todd nodded and then watched her and James leave.


	3. Chapter 3

After leaving the park, Todd went to Dorian's to see Jack. Well, after dropping Cole back off at Viki's that was. He didn't want his son exposed to Blair or Dorian's… unique personalities. Honestly, he wished he could be shielded from them as well.

Todd approached Dorian's front door and knocked. The door was opened soon opened by a teenage boy with dark, curly hair. Todd immediately recognized him from his pictures as Jack. "Hey, son."

Jack narrowed his eyes at the man. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Todd cringed a bit. Starr had told him that Jack's opinion of him was not great, but you were just never prepared for the looks of hatred you get from your own son. "I…I came to see you."

"What's the occasion? I haven't seen or heard from you and five years. The only things I know about you are the things Starr has said."

"Things were complicated, Jack. I wanted to see you, but I couldn't," Todd said.

"Oh, yeah, Starr told me that line of bull too. She actually tried to tell me that Mom was the one keeping you away. I didn't believe her and I don't believe you," Jack said.

"It's true, Jack. I couldn't even speak to Starr on the phone for over a year. Your mother took out a restraining order on me the moment I was cleared. She took great pleasure in telling me that when I called the house the first time. If I tried to see you, she would've had me arrested. And if I tried to call, she wouldn't let me through to either of you," Todd explained.

"Even if that was true, it was one year. You had four others," Jack said.

"It's complicated," Todd said. It was very complicated. By then, his relationship with Marty and Cole had grown very deeply and he wanted to protect Cole. Though it didn't stop him from still trying to see Starr and Jack. He'd contacted a lawyer and asked what he could do. The lawyer had told him that there wasn't much. Blair had custody. He could fight, but given his history, he wouldn't win. His best bet was to just wait until the kids were old enough to decide for themselves. Still, he didn't give up. He called the house about six months after the restraining order expired. As luck would have it, Starr answered and they talked. Thankfully, she'd listened to him.

"Oh, right, because you have a new family now," Jack said bitterly.

"It's not like that," Todd said. Yes, Marty and Cole were the reason he never moved back to Llanview, but it wasn't because he loved them more than his other children.

"Sure it is. I know all about it. You have a new son now. Probably from some affair while you were with my mother. Now he's what matters to you," Jack said.

"No! I mean, yes, Cole matters to me, but so do you," Todd said firmly.

"Well, you don't matter to me. You can go to hell," Jack said before slamming the door in his face.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Todd made it back to Llanfair a couple hours later. He'd taken a bit of time to cool off after his conversation with Jack. He didn't want Cole to see him upset. Unlike his other children, Cole had been very sheltered. He wasn't subjected to fights and anger like Starr and Jack had been their entire lives. And Todd liked it that way. He only wished he had protected his other kids from that kind of behavior.

Todd made his way into the living room to find Viki there reading. "Hey, sis. Where's Cole?"

Viki put her book away. "He's in the kitchen having lunch with Bree and Ryder. He is a wonderful child, Todd." She had only spent a little time with her new nephew so far, but from what she gathered, he was very sweet and well-behaved.

Todd smiled. "Yeah, he is."

"You still haven't said how you found out about him," Viki commented.

Todd's smile faltered. "It's complicated."

"Meaning you don't want to talk about it. Is he why you didn't come back for so long?" Viki asked.

"He's part of it," Todd told her.

"Why? You could've brought him with you just as you have now," Viki said. She was really trying to understand her brother's motivations for not coming back. She could understand to him not wanting to come back to Blair, but his children were here. She couldn't understand why he would leave them.

"Look, I'm here now. Can't we just leave it at that," Todd asked. Not only did he not want to get into this, he couldn't get into a lot of it.

"No, Todd, we can't. No one has seen or heard from you in five years," Viki said.

"Well, that's not exactly true," Todd said before sitting down on the couch in front of his sister. "I spoke to Blair once or twice."

"What? She never told me that," Viki said. That annoyed her a little. Blair had lied to her. She'd asked her more than once if she'd heard from Todd and Blair would always say no.

Todd snorted. "Gee, that's surprising. I'm sure she also didn't tell you she took out a restraining order against me, keeping me from my kids."

"No, she didn't. How was she even able to do that? You were cleared of all charges," Viki said.

"According to my lawyer, my history was a problem," Todd said.

"But your history has always been there. It didn't stop you from getting custody of Starr years ago," Viki said. There was something her brother wasn't saying here. Something else had to have happened for him to lose the children like this. "Todd, did you do something else."

Todd sighed. He saw no way out of this. He was going to have to tell her at least part of what kept him away all these years. "No. But it turns out that what happened with Margaret affected me more than I thought."

"You mean when she raped you?" Viki asked.

"Yeah. It tore me up badly, but I couldn't see it. Someone who was around me at the time could and she forced me to get some kind of help," Todd said.

"You saw a psychiatrist?" Viki asked with a raised eyebrow. This person must have been very persuasive to get her brother to do that.

"I swear to this day it was against my will. But I'm actually glad I did it. I think it made me a better person. Anyway, the shrink diagnosed me with PTSD. When Blair found out, she through it in my face. With everything else too, it was enough to get her the order. And even when it expired, she was still able to use the fact that I spent nearly a year being treated for a mental illness against me," Todd explained.

"Oh, Todd, I'm so sorry," Viki said sadly.

"No, don't be. Like I said, it made me a better person. Anyway, I did get to see Starr a few times since then," Todd said.

"You did? She never said anything either," Viki said.

"I asked her not to tell you. I knew if she did, you would try to see me," Todd said.

"What would've been so wrong with that?"

"It's complicated," Todd said. That was starting to become his new catch phrase. He used to hate that word so much. Now he was the one parroting it off.

Viki sighed. "How long are you going to keep giving me that answer? If you don't want to tell something, just say that."

"Okay, fine. I don't want to tell you," Todd said.

"Why not? Todd, are you in trouble?" Viki asked worriedly.

"No. Not me," Todd said.

"Someone you care about then?" she asked.

"Drop this please, Viki. I know it's hard for you to let things go, but I'm asking you to do that. I haven't done anything wrong. I'm just trying to keep what's mine. Let it go," Todd said before getting up and leaving the room without giving his sister a chance to respond.


	4. Chapter 4

Todd sat with Cole at Rodi's. They were waiting for Starr. She was supposed to join them for dinner. She was supposed to be bringing someone with her as well. He assumed it was her boyfriend, James, but his daughter wouldn't confirm or deny that.

Cole was getting really impatient. "Come on, can't we order already?"

"Don't you think we should wait for your sister?" Todd asked.

"She's taking forever. I'm hungry," Cole said.

Todd chuckled. "Don't worry, she just texted me. She'll be here any minute. Just be patient."

Cole was quiet for a minute, but then looked up at his father again. "Dad?"

"Yeah, pal."

"Why isn't Mom here?" Cole asked.

Todd sighed. There it was. The question he had been dreading. He knew it was only a matter of time before his son started asking questions about his mother, questions he couldn't answer truthfully. "Well, she wanted to come, but she had to work."

"Is she coming later?" Cole asked.

"Um, well, it might be a while. You know how Mom is with her work," Todd said.

"Can we call her?" Cole asked. He really wanted to talk to his mother. He'd never gone this long without talking to her. Heck, he didn't even go this long without seeing her. They'd never been apart.

"Uh, well, not right now. Mom's very busy and she can't talk," Todd lied. He hated every word that came out of his mouth right now, but they had to have as little contact with Marty as possible. He only called her the night he arrived to let her know that everything was going according to plan.

"When?" Cole asked.

Once again, Starr saved him from answering a difficult question with her presence. "Hey, guys."

Todd looked up to see Starr there with a young girl with long dark hair. He knew who she was immediately. Starr had told him all about her and even shown him pictures when she came to visit. It was his daughter Dani.

Todd immediately stood up to greet them. "Hey."

"Dad, this is Dani. Dani, this is our dad and our little brother, Cole."

"Hi," Dani said awkwardly. She wasn't sure how to regard Todd. She knew he was her father, but she'd never met him before. She'd seen pictures and heard stories, but that was all.

"Hi," Todd greeted back with a smile.

"Finally! Can we eat now?" Cole asked, unknowingly breaking the ice.

They all started laughing. "Yes, Impatient, we can eat," Todd said.

"I'll go order for us. I know what everyone likes. Cole, you wanna come with me," Starr asked, trying to give her father and sister some time alone.

"Okay," Cole said before standing up and following his sister away from the table.

"So you wanna sit down?" Todd asked.

"Sure," Dani said before sitting down in the chair next to Todd's.

Todd sat down as well. "It's good to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Yeah, I've heard a lot about you too," Dani said.

Todd couldn't help but cringe. He knew that what she heard couldn't be good.

"No, it's okay. Yeah, I know about your past, but I've gotten over it. Though let's just say it's good you weren't hear when I found out," Dani told him. When she first found out the things her biological father had done in the past, she'd been really upset. She didn't want to hear anything good about him. Though most of that was because she didn't want a new father, even in theory.

"I'm sorry. It must have been really hard for you. Not just finding out what I'd done, but finding out that I was your father at all," Todd said.

"It was. It was really hard. You've gotta understand, I loved my father growing up. I still love him and I will always think of him as my father," Dani told him truthfully. She did want to have a relationship with her biological father, but that didn't mean she was willing to forget the man that raised her. It didn't matter what he had done or that he was now gone. She would always love him.

"I do understand that. I would never even think to take his place. I know I could never do that," Todd said. A few years ago, he probably would've been less understanding, but he now knew what it meant to love someone who wasn't your blood. Cole was his son. They didn't share the same DNA, but that didn't make the boy any less his. Nobody could tell Cole that Todd wasn't his father or Todd that Cole wasn't his son. So, yeah, he understood what Dani was saying.

Dani smiled at him. "Thanks."

Just then Starr and Cole came back to the table. "Okay, the order's in," Starr said as they both sat down.

Dani turned to Cole and smiled. "So, Cole, do you know who I am?"

Cole nodded. "You're my big sister, like Starr. How come you don't come to see us like Starr does?"

"Well, I wanted to, but I've just been so busy I haven't been able to," Dani lied. Truthfully, she didn't go because she couldn't get up the nerve to meet Todd. She'd barely managed to get the nerve to go to dinner tonight. Though she was now glad she did.

"But we're together now. That's a good thing, right?" Starr asked.

"Yeah, except Mom's not here and neither is Jack," Cole said. He knew who Jack was too. His dad told him all about all his siblings. He was kind of disappointed that he didn't get to meet Jack yet.

Starr noticed her father get a pained look on his face when Jack was mentioned and decided to steer the conversation in another direction. "So, Dad, are you planning to take the paper back form Aunt Viki?"

"Uh, I don't know. I haven't given it a lot of thought actually," Todd said. His thought had been mostly on keeping his family safe. He didn't have time to think about much else.

"Well, did you enroll Cole in school?" Starr asked.

"Not yet," Todd said. Getting Cole into school was going to be easier said than done. Schools tended to want things like birth certificates and prior records. Things he couldn't provide without leaving a trail, a way for Cole to be found.

"I have to go to school? I hate school," Cole groaned.

"Everyone hates school, but we still have to go," Dani said.

"Yeah, there are no fourth grade dropouts," Starr added with a smile.

"Don't worry, buddy, you've still got a few days at least. I gotta figure some things out before we get you enrolled," Todd said. More like find a way to doctor his records actually.

"So, Cole, you said your mom wasn't here. Where is she?" Dani asked curiously.

Todd stiffened. He knew it wasn't Dani's fault, as she had no idea what was going on, but he really wished she hadn't brought Marty up.

Cole sighed unhappily. "She has to work. But she's going to come later, right, Dad?

Just then, the waiter came with their food.

"Yes, finally!" Cole exclaimed as he took his burger and fries.

"Alright, everyone, let's dig in," Todd said. They all then began to eat their meal.


End file.
